Helo: Processors Or Pedals??

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by Anchit7, Aug 22, 2011.

  1. Anchit7

    Anchit7 Member

    Heyy guys......i was just researching for some tones........i have a query.......What would be better??.....a set of pedals(Chorus,OD,Delay)....or a high-end processor(Like korg......boss gt8....)??....considering i have a budget of 15-20k....???......i Generally play Slash.....
     
  2. wylder

    wylder Member

    Would recommend a Boss DS-1 > Delay/Reverb pedal for a start. If you find the sustain/overtones are lacking, try a nice overdrive (Boss OD-3/SD-1/Digitech Bad Monkey/Ibanez TubeScreamer) before the DS-1 and back off the distortion a bit. That would make it more sustained and less fuzzy, like November Rain.

    If you want a bit more upscale stuff, try out MI Audio's Crunch Box. It is a Marshal in a box sort of pedal. I have the Tube Zone and its lead tone is amazing (very Mesa-ish, Petrucci style).
    Other popular Marshall-ish options are Fultone Full Drive, Keeley Modded DS-1 and Barber Direct Drive. But you would have to get these from the US as it would be tough to find these here.
     
  3. mymusicmyguitar

    mymusicmyguitar Active Member

    From what i have read, discussed and experienced Pedals definitely win over Processors. Yes there are some better high end processors out there. but with a budget of 15 - 20k..u better start collecting pedals..
     
  4. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    If you have a particular tone in mind - like you mention Slash - high processors will end up being less expensive as well as closer to the tone you want.

    (compared to:) Pedals and amps are better - but you do have to spend loads of moolah, or you get junk tones (inferior to processors).
     
  5. rickkkyrich

    rickkkyrich Guest

    If you dont gig.. Just get an Interface and Guitar rig 4... Get any tone you want..
     
  6. shailm

    shailm New Member

    @wylder- the Fulldrive isn't Marshall like at all. It's actually closely related to the Boss SD-1, the Fulltone OCD is more Marshall like (maybe the new Plimsoul also?), one of the most highly rated Marshall in a box these days is the Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret.

    @alpha1
    I respectfully disagree. You can get a decent tube amp for around 12,000, and a decent processor costs about 10,000? add to the tube amp a cheap boss sd1 type pedal, and you have a relatively superior tone.
     
  7. rickkkyrich

    rickkkyrich Guest

    One off topic query to Shailm .. Why do you have so many pedals for same effect? Like multiple SD1s , multiple reverbs ...
     
  8. shailm

    shailm New Member

    Haha, the short answer is GAS, the longer answer-
    So, the original boss SD1 is one of my first and one of my favorite effects, and the Analogman and the Keeley versions are very different. The analogman version is more a tubescreamer with higher gain than a regular tubescreamer, also it has the option to pick between boss style asymmetrical clipping and tubescreamer style symmetrical clipping via a push-pull pot. The result is a really nice classic-ish overdrive which can be used as a boost and also with the gain maxd out has crazy long sustain.The Keeley SD1 i believe actually has germanium diodes in there. So it's almost a very slightly fuzzy modern sound. It's also a little more compressed sounding. All three are very different, but my favorite is the original boss one, followed by the analogman then the keeley.
    In the reverbs, I got the RV3 first, simply because some of my favorite bands used it (Radiohead, Sigur Ros). The spring reverb on the RV3 sucked, very tinny, fake sounding. Though, the hall sound is great and offers digital delay. But when I saw the features on the Cathedral, I had to have it.
    There are multiple Big Muffs in the rig too. The EHX one was great when i was using a solid state amp was fine (albeit a little noisy), but just didnt work too well with the AC4. Then i got the hoof, which is just a sick muff, but i got the musket out of curiosity.
    Sorry for the long post
     
  9. rickkkyrich

    rickkkyrich Guest

    Cathedral is a very expensive pedal i must say...Almost same price as your tube amp :p: .. btw any opinions about the Biyang Reverb pedals? RV-8/10.. They are pretty cheap and true bypass..
     
  10. shailm

    shailm New Member

    Yeah, its priced at about 215$. But its probably one of the most versatile reverbs out there. Don't know much about the Biyang pedals, but for the price, they seem like a steal. Maybe this will help- New Biyang "Baby Boom" Reverb - The Gear Page .
    If you're not willing to take the risk on this one, and you can raise your budget by about 30$, you can get the EHX Holy Grail nano. A bit more on the expensive side are-
    T.C. Electronics Hall of Fame- The most versatile pedal for its price. Very highly rated. (145$)
    Digitech Hardwire RV7- A lot of people love this one. They use algorithms provided by Lexicon(Lexicon makes some great rack reverbs). (149$)
    T Rex Tonebug- Don't know much about this one. (145$)
    Malekko made a good reverb for about 120$, but i think they've discontinued the current model.
    Also the modulated reverb on the boss rv-5 has its followers.
    i think the hardwire (or maybe another one) has a "shimmer" effect, which is an octave up sound plus reverb. Its pretty cool..
    Or then there's always the behringer reverb machine(rv600) (50$!!!!!)
     
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  11. rickkkyrich

    rickkkyrich Guest

    Thanks for the list .. I might buy one around oct-nov after i get my tube amp... GAS is becoming dangerously intoxicating
     
  12. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Of course I should've mentioned about role of effects in the "tone" in my post.
    You can't get clean+overdrive+distortion+wah+reverb+delay+flange+chorus+tremolo in even 35k if you go the pedal route.
    Whereas you can definitely get pretty professional sounding tone with a 35K processor.

    Of course if you plan to spend 1 Lac, then the pedal + amp combo may beat the processor + amp combo of 1 lac.
     
  13. rickkkyrich

    rickkkyrich Guest

    Pedal gives you GAS...never ending GAS... You are much safe when you buy a MFX processor (A high end one)..
     
  14. rickkkyrich

    rickkkyrich Guest

    Even then there's no guarantee if you'll achieve holy grail of tone... one can buy an Axe Fx ultra and still be dissatisfied..
     
  15. Anchit7

    Anchit7 Member

    Thanks a lot for your kind replies everyone...:)....
    Firstly...i have tried the DS-1...and found it to be a bit too fuzzy...more of a Nirvana tone kinda pedal......I need something purely for soloing........@Wylder: Do (Boss OD-3/SD-1/Digitech Bad Monkey/Ibanez TubeScreamer) fall in this category??.......
    @rickky:I do gig mate......:D...so Guitar rigs definately out..:)
    @alpha1:I was also thinking on the same lines.....any suggestions for a good processor.......??
     
  16. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    My knowledge about guitar gear is outdated, and stands at the year 2006-2007 (almost 5 years).
    HOWEVER, I believe not much has changed in the world of processors, and even less in the world of pedals.

    For about 20K, you may have to go for Boss ME 50 (or something like that), Digitech GNX3 (or 3000) , Korg AX3000, Vox tonelab, Zoom G7 or G9.
    (No idea about LINE6 PODs)

    I re affirm that not much has changed in last 5 years in the processor world! The same processors were there, albeit about 5K higher.

    All the processors are pretty good doing their job. There are certain quirks and nuances, that may suit you, but not others (like knobs, buttons, programming). Effects and overdrive/distortion are pretty good in each one.
     
  17. shailm

    shailm New Member

    @ alpha1, true but you can always collect the pedals over time. Plus, no multi-effect (at least that I know of) has really been able to capture the sound of just at the point of breakup tube amp. You can do so much just with a change in the dynamics of your playing.
    But even if your using an SS amp, I still believe you'r better off getting pedals (even really cheap ones) over time.

    - I actually believe quite a bit has changed.
     
  18. rickkkyrich

    rickkkyrich Guest

    Just look at Shailm's pedal list.. does he looks like a guy who'll ever recommend a processor over a pedal?
     
  19. wylder

    wylder Member

    +1

    You will always find that the old pedals are useful to add variety to your palette of tones. And yeah, the best tones I can get out of a digital processors tend to be either high gain or ultra clean. the breakup sounds are not that great in digital/modelling ones.

    Perhaps the worst of all is a processor going through a DI box to the mixing control without an amp. Many sound engineers do this so that they have less microphones on stage and hence less feedback and noise to worry about. But this makes the processor sound terrible on PA. It usually ends up making the guitar tone hollow/thin.
     
  20. unkle

    unkle New Member

    i have more than a dozen processors in my rack and i would suggest you to go with pedals....or like someone else suggested get a low latency interface and a copy of guitar rig, you will always have the use for the interface for recording etc, once you nail down the tone you are after just get the pedals.
     

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